The acquisition of Chelsea Football Club by Roman Abramovich in summer 2003 is often seen as a binary moment in the west London club's and English football's modern history.
It is true that the level of expectation at Stamford Bridge suddenly changed as big-money signings swept in, and when Jose Mourinho took charge a year later, the Blues immediately found themselves surpassing Arsenal's Invincibles and Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United to become the dominant force in the Premier League.
It was drastic growth in a short space of time. But actually, Chelsea's progress since returning to the First Division in 1989 had comprised of many different periods and key moments, and the signing of Ruud Gullit in 1995 was one of them.
A former Ballon d'Or winner famous for his ability to excel in any position, Gullit was quite simply a class act. His football intelligence was far superior to many of his Chelsea team-mates - the Blues had spent the first few seasons of the newly-formed Premier League dwindling in mid-table - and he offered a continental approach to football that was unique for the club at that time.
Glenn Hoddle and Ruud Gullit
Gullit's influence on the pitch didn't make an immediate difference to results. But off the pitch, his reputation and Glenn Hoddle's tactical approach allowed Chelsea to attract more technically skilled, tactically savvy and better-experienced players, especially from Serie A where Gullit enjoyed iconic status as part of the legendary AC Milan side of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Gullit replaced Hoddle as player-manager in 1996 and an abundance of quality signings from Italy soon followed: Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Di Matteo, Frank Lebouf and Gianfranco Zola. Chelsea transformed from a side composed of predominantly British, industrious players to a team capable of playing a more continental and exciting game of football.
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It should have been a perfect partnership for the Three Lions.
That became the Blues' identity until the point of Mourinho's arrival, when defensive resilience became the backbone of their glory. But the continental version of the Blues were successful in their own right: they became an established top six side and often won silverware in the cup competitions.
Gullit was responsible for the first of those - the 1996/97 FA Cup - and deserves credit for his role in the 1997/98 League Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as well. But by the time the Blues lifted both of those trophies, despite impressive results, the Dutchman had been sacked by the west Londoners.
Ruud Gullit Sacked as Chelsea Coach
Events remain disputed
Ruud Gullit and Ron Atkinson
Reports at the time, April 1998, revealed a huge difference between Gullit's interpretation of events and Chelsea's. The one thing that can be agreed upon is that the Dutchman's contract was due to expire at the end of the season, but whereas Gullit insisted he was committed to the club and awaited further talks over his new deal, managing director Colin Hutchinson told the media that the Blues couldn't meet their manager's demands.
Gullit told the press:
"I was astounded to find out from the media that I have been replaced as Chelsea coach by Gianluca Vialli. I was only asked to attend one meeting in the last six months to discuss the future. This meeting took place on 5 February, when Colin Hutchinson and myself talked very amicably about a new two-year extension to my contract. At no time during my discussion was there any doubt in my mind that I would re-sign. In fact, I specifically told anyone who asked that I would sign a new deal after more talks - there were no more talks."
Hutchinson, meanwhile, declared in a club statement:
"Ruud and I met last Thursday. During a 40-minute meeting it was established Ruud was prepared to extend by two years. For our part, we indicated that we wished the new contract could be as a manager only. Unfortunately while we were prepared to give Ruud a contract which we believe would have made him the best-paid manager in the Premiership, we were not able to meet what he wanted and expected. We simply could not afford what he was asking. Ruud was told at the end of the meeting that unfortunately the gap was too wide to allow further meaningful negotiations and that we would need to actively pursue lining up a replacement."
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He blamed money and the influence of agents
ruud gullit
A guest on the hugely popular Stick to Football podcast in May 2025, Gullit - the most complete footballer of all time - gave a different interpretation of what really happened at Chelsea. He first explained that initially he didn't even want to manage the club because he wanted to continue his playing career. He told Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Jill Scott:
"I didn't want to be a manager. I never wanted it, I just got dragged into it by Chelsea fans and the board wanted a trainer because Glenn Hoddle left for the national team. They were begging me to do it and I didn't want it because I knew also it was the end of my career as a football player. Plus you get a different relationship with the guys you've played with. So I had to think about it. That's how I rolled into it, but I didn't want to do it."
The football legend then suggested that the desire of some individuals to make expensive signings that he wasn't interested in ultimately lead to his shock departure in 1998.
"It's not a nice feeling when you get sacked... You feel humiliated. If things were bad, OK you can understand. But if things are not going badly, you think 'so what is this?'. There's a lot going on behind your back, a lot going on around you, that you have no influence on, and that's what I hated about the job. Later on I found out there was a lot of money going around, because all of a sudden the best players wanted to come to Chelsea, and they were offering a lot of players that I didn't want. Big money. I said to myself, 'No, I don't need these players - for what reason?'. So I was a little bit in the way."
He elaborated later in the episode...
"It was all about money. It was about all of a sudden 'hey, we could make some transfers here'. I was always blocking that - that's what I found out later on. Agents, they always wanted to get their players there, but I said 'no, I don't need these players'. When I left, all of a sudden all these players came in, and I thought 'that's strange'."
While Gullit believes the influence of agents was an underlying factor in his dismissal, it was the way that forced others in the club to work against him that hurt him most, feeling betrayed by sporting directors, scouts and even his own coaches.
"You have people around you who take care of you, and then all of a sudden you think to yourself 'huh', and they've back-stabbed you. That's a horrible feeling, especially because you did everything in the best possible way."
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Ken Bates Disliked Uncertainty over Gullit's Future
Contract Saga weighed heavy
Ken Bates
Whether there was a genuine effort to push Gullit out of the club purely for the sake of more transfer activity remains a matter of interpretation. There is clearly a difference in how Gullit and the club believe events unfolded, and the former Chelsea gaffer's most recent comments provide a revisionist view of sinister, underlying forces.
His argument isn't necessarily one of a well-orchestrated conspiracy designed by agents huffing cigars in mysterious backrooms at Stamford Bridge, but rather how the money side of football lead to agents working for their own gain negatively influencing those within the club. In the end, colleagues became less supportive of him, and that facilitated his departure.
But owner Ken Bates, back in 1998 provided a different explanation. He stated that the mere confusion around Gullit's future was too big an issue, having suffered the same problem when Hoddle left for the England job in 1996. He didn't want to be in the same boat again, uncertain of who his manager would be heading into the new season.
"I'm sorry that it's come to this but we had this problem two years ago when we had another manager [Glenn Hoddle] who wouldn't make his mind up until April and as we were already planning for next season it was important to ensure a smooth continuity.
"There may be supporters who are sad that he is leaving and there may be others who take a contrary view, but I am delighted to pay tribute to him. He took us on to a new plane as far as football was concerned. He helped make Chelsea one of the most talked about clubs in the world and he won us the FA Cup in his first season and will always be remembered for that. I'm sad he's leaving but one has to face up to facts."
Regardless of the reasons why, nobody can dispute Gullit's legacy at Stamford Bridge. He triggered a change in culture which created more success on the pitch, gained Chelsea international acclaim and ultimately helped them attract a new, ludicrously rich owner - Abramovich. Chelsea, and English football, have never been quite the same since.